


Anti-Soulmates

by outsideth3box



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:28:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29565414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outsideth3box/pseuds/outsideth3box
Summary: Popular opinion says that a daemon is the external representation of a person’s soul. Daemon Lore claims that when two people’s daemons meet and mate, then the humans are soulmates. That... is absolutely not happening here.
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Comments: 20
Kudos: 61
Collections: Romancing McShep, Romancing McShep 2021





	Anti-Soulmates

**Author's Note:**

> Betaed by the lovely mific, with my eternal gratitude. Hearts, hon!

“I don’t care if you have a crush on his human,” growled Sierra as she and Rodney entered their quarters. “I can’t stand Dominic.”

“I don’t have a crush on Colonel Sheppard,” Rodney replied, setting part of his stash of Kona Peaberry coffee beans to grind. “We’re friends, that’s all. And I don’t know why you two daemons can’t get along.”

Sierra snorted. “Friends. Right. I see those puppy eyes you two throw at each other whenever you think the other’s not looking.” She curled her lip. “And Dominic is an asshole,” she said for the millionth time. 

The wolf jumped up onto the couch and curled up, leaving room for Rodney to sit while he waited for his coffee to brew. He wandered over, kicking his shoes off, and flopped down, heaving a gusty sigh.

“He’s a little overprotective. He’s like John that way, always the first one to throw himself on the grenade. You should appreciate that rather than constantly bitching about it.” Rodney cracked a big yawn and got up to check the status of his coffee. Finding it starting to fill the carafe, he switched out the pot for a mug and let it fill, switching them back and taking a big gulp. “Ahhh!”

“Like you do? You never stop ranting about Colonel Sheppard’s so-called death wish and the way he’s willing to sacrifice himself to save others. The Colonel’s like that by nature. He’s brave and he cares about people. Dominic only acts that way for attention. He’s an arrogant, mouthy know-it-all and I already have one of those,” Sierra grumbled. “I don’t need another.” 

“I’m beginning to think _you_ have a crush on the Colonel,” Rodney sniped. He dug the remote out from behind the sofa cushion. “What do you want to watch?”

* * *

“I’m going to bite Sierra next time she speaks to me like that.” Dominic stretched out on his side on the bed, enjoying the Colonel’s petting.

“No you’re not,” answered Sheppard. “She was only standing up for Rodney.”

“She called me a brainless clod! All I did was growl at her to get him to move out of the way. He almost tripped you!” Dominic hissed.

John paused in his petting to reprimand Dominic. “That’s what I mean. You started it. I saw him in plenty of time so you didn’t need to growl like that. You made her angry.” 

“She’s a stupid mutt!” snarled the daemon. 

John frowned. “What is it with you and Sierra? I know it’s not because you’re both wolf daemons. You both get along just fine with Jack and Daniel’s wolves, Martha and Lyric.” 

“Martha and Lyric are amusing together and that makes them fun to have around. Sierra’s just annoying. Also, why did those idiots at the IOA demand that the Atlantis Command Staff be made up only of those with wolf daemons? Having a wolf daemon doesn’t automatically confer exemplary skill and intelligence, no matter what the old wives' tales say,” Dominic growled, snapping gently at John’s hand when it ventured into underbelly territory.

* * *

“They’re fine,” Dominic announced, from his position outside the prison window with his paws up on the sill, balancing on Sierra’s back. John and Rodney were sitting back on a rough wooden bench inside the small cell, shoulder to shoulder, whispering softly. Dominic could see the single guard through the barred cell door. The guard’s daemon was a large bird, a raptor of some sort, perched on his shoulder. “They’re both awake and alert.”

“You _idiot_!” growled Sierra. “They aren’t _fine_. You said the Colonel has a concussion, and Rodney has a broken arm! They were beaten! That’s not even close to fine. Get off me!”

“Well, they’re not being beaten _now_ , so they're mostly alright." Dominic jumped lightly to the ground. "Still, we have to get them out of there." 

Sierra gave him a disgusted look. “You think?” 

Dominic ignored her. “There’s just the one guard. We should be able to come up with a workable plan to take him out. He’s got a predatory bird daemon, like a falcon or an eagle.” He trotted toward the front of the square-ish building, not bothering to check whether Sierra was following. “Let’s see if we can entice him to leave his post. You hide around the corner and I’ll lure him out, then you go for the bird.”

The door to the small stone building that housed the cell was closer to the far corner than to the center of the wall. Dominic went to the door while Sierra stayed out of sight around the corner. He began scratching at the door and whining pitifully, interspersing his whines with high-pitched yips as though he was in pain.

Several minutes went by. Sierra focused all of her senses on the inside of the prison; she could hear the guard muttering crossly to his daemon. 

Dominic continued to scratch and whine, and sure enough, footsteps from inside started toward the door. The footsteps grew in volume up to the door and then it opened slowly. The guard first poked his head out cautiously, then stepped up to the threshold. He frowned at Dominic, who had lifted one front paw as if injured and begun hopping on the other, yiping desperately.

The guard made a shooing motion at Dominic, yelling, “Get away! Get out of here!” As he took another step past the threshold and started to raise his rifle, Sierra struck, going straight for his hawk.

She leaped and grabbed the hawk by its wing as it tried to take flight. As she fell back to the ground she swung her head and slammed the bird into the dirt, pouncing on it with both front feet before it could gather itself, while Dominic grabbed the guard’s rifle stock and pulled it aside, preventing him from shooting Sierra. 

Closing her jaws around the hawk’s neck, she bit hard and shook her head, reveling in the crunch of broken bones and the taste of blood. In the background Sierra could hear the guard’s screams as he fell, dying with his daemon. It was only what he deserved for hurting John and Rodney.

A lot of grumbling and muttering later, Dominic managed to untangle the guard’s rifle strap from his limp arm while Sierra tore the key ring from the dead man’s belt loop.

“Ready? C’mon!” Dominic took the strap in his mouth and dragged the rifle through the open door. 

Sierra put the keys down long enough to growl, “Stop acting like you’re in charge of me!” Then she picked them back up and entered the building.

The two wolves shoved their prizes through the bars to John and Rodney, preening at the pleased expressions on the men’s tired faces.

It wasn’t long before the four of them were back in Atlantis, and after John gave an abbreviated report to Woolsey, they refused the medical team's offer of a stretcher ride and all made their way slowly to the infirmary. John and Rodney stumbled through the corridors arm in arm, leaning on each other with Sierra and Dominic walking beside them, silently supportive.

* * *

“This is all your fault!” Sierra lifted her lip and sneered at Dominic, flashing a fang. “I don’t know how you did it, but I know it’s your fault.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dominic stopped pacing the corridor to snarl at Sierra. “They’ve been mooning over each other since we arrived in Atlantis. This was inevitable!” 

“Inevitable, my ass,” she grumbled, dropping her head back down onto her crossed legs. “God, now I’m going to have to spend even _more_ time with you.”

“Better get used to it.” Dominic resumed pacing restlessly while on the other side of the door their humans brought each other to very loud climaxes. “It’s not just sex, you know.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve been paying attention. The puppy eyes, the furtive touches, the _masturbation fantasies_!” Sierra groaned miserably. “They’re in _lo-o-o-ove_!”

* * *

Rodney flopped back onto his very expensive, ergonomic, gel-foam pillow and went to lift his plaster-casted arm over his eyes, catching himself just in time. “Well, that was unexpected.” He pushed at John, who was heavier than he looked.

“Nrrghff!” said John, sliding off Rodney into a limp, sweaty, sated puddle. 

“Sierra and Dominic aren’t going to put up with being kicked out every time we have sex, you know.” Rodney wriggled his good arm out from under John’s sleepy weight. 

“First time, Rodney,” whined John. “I didn’t want witnesses to my crash and burn if you said no.”

“If I said no? Well, I have three little words to say to that,” Rodney kissed John sweetly on the top of his head, then thumped him. “Don’t be stupid.”

“Nrrghff!”


End file.
